Post in our forum for parents, teens - You! - at ConnectSafely.org.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Growing no. of teen hackers (or wannabes)

The number of teenagers dabbling in high-tech crime is on the rise. "Computer security professionals say many Net forums are populated by teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips," the BBC reports. Kids as young as 11 and 12 are being found in these forums using credit card numbers to pay for packaged exploits, computer security experts say, some of whom seem to view searching for videogame cheats as a kind of "gateway" activity (I'd say only for those who've never been told the difference between legal and illegal). In any case, these hacker wannabes' age and low skill level make them relatively easy to catch and arrest, the BBC sources' say, and they need to know that nobody wants to be in the position of trying to get into college with a criminal record! The BBC says some are going for thrills, some for a certain kind of fame or validation (even making videos of their exploits and posting them on YouTube), some for money, and others some combination of all the above.

Labels: , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home